Archive for the ‘NATO’ Category

The Department of State issued a final rule amending section 123.9(e) of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to allow for NATO and its agencies, the governments of NATO members, and the governments of Australia and Japan to reexport or retransfer US origin components incorporated into a foreign defense article without any prior approval from the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Prior to the revision/clarification, 123.9(e) did not authorize retransfers to agencies of NATO-it only authorized retransfers to the member governments themselves, plus Australia and Japan.

To refresh your memory on the ITAR 123.9(e) NATO+ parts exemption, there are several limits however to what components can be reexported or retransferred. First of all, to qualify for the exemption the US origin components must have been initially authorized for export from the US either through license or an exemption. The following are US origin components that are NOT eligible for the exemption:

Significant military equipment;

Major defense equipment sold under a contract in the amount of US $14 million or more;

Defense articles or defense services sold under a contract in the amount of US $50 million or more;

Identified as items in the Missile Technology Control Regime of ITAR.

Finally the person reexporting the defense article must provide written notification to DDTC about the retransfer no later than 30 days after the transaction, and the notification must identify the articles reexported and the recipient government or NATO entity. After receiving this documentation the DDTC has the option to place restrictions on the component.

On December 19, 2007, an amendment to the ITAR was published that revised the licensing procedures with regards to third party/dual nationals for technical assistance and manufacturing license agreements. It is no longer required that additional approval for a release of technical data, defense services, and access to defense articles for third part/dual national employees from NATO, EU, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Switzerland.(more…)

In the December 19, 2007 Federal Register, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) of the State Department announced its new policy for dual and third country nationals. The change primarily is related to the requirement that when you apply for a Technical Assistance Agreement (TAA) or Manufacturing License Agreement, you must identify the foreign nationalities of the foreign signatories to the agreement. (more…)

First: the State Department has said that it relaxed its burdensome dual-national/third country national requirements for foreign nationals from NATO, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. If an employee of a company on a TAA or MLA is a national of one of these countries, they will be considered to be authorized to receive the US defense articles covered by the TAA and MLA and the applicant will no longer be required to obtain a non-disclosure agreement form such nationals. This policy change should reduce the current TAA and MLA burdens once (if) the State Department actually implements the policy.

Second: State plans to put out new brokering regulations soon. We will not know if this is good news or bad news until the regulations come out.